JONESBORO, Ark. (Courtesy of ODU Athletics) – A Kaye Clark layup got the Old Dominion women’s basketball team to within a point at 56-55 with over six minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but Arkansas State pulled away for a 76-63 final on Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena.
The Monarchs (15-6, 7-4 Sun Belt) led 35-29 at halftime, but A-State’s Annaliese Griffin started to get hot from the perimeter in the third quarter. The junior made three three-pointers in the period to give the Red Wolves (12-9, 6-5) control at 46-43. Teammate Izzy Higginbottom then scored six points to highlight a late 8-0 run as the hosts took a 54-47 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Simone Cunningham started off the fourth quarter with a 2-for-2 effort at the line, then followed with a layup. En’Dya Buford also made both of her free throws before Clark’s layup cut the deficit to 56-55. After Higginbottom and Cunningham traded baskets, the Red Wolves pulled away again with a 10-0 spurt thanks to two more threes from Griffin. The Monarchs dealt with foul trouble for the remainder of the game, and Higginbottom and Lauryn Pendleton combined to make 8-of-10 free throws to clinch the victory for the home team.
“The loss today is a frustrating one and resembles the loss we had versus JMU where our opponents got to the free-throw line 20 times more than us,” said head coach DeLisha Milton-Jones. “We pride ourselves on strong defense and aggressive offense, but aren’t getting rewarded in the same manner as our opponents. But we must flush this quickly and get our sights set on a hot Troy team coming to Norfolk.”
Four Monarchs finished in double figures, led by a career-high 16 points from Cunningham. Jordan McLaughlin was next with 13 points while Clark and Brenda Fontana turned in a pair of 12-point performances. Buford ended up with eight points and Fontana led ODU with eight rebounds.
The Monarchs shot 15-for-27 (.556) in the first half, but made just 10-of-28 (.357) shots in the second half. ODU was also limited to just 12 free throw attempts, making eight of them, while A-State shot 28-for-34 (.824) at the line. The hosts also won the rebounding battle, 31-28, and both sides combined for just five points off the bench.
A-State went up 11-7 midway through the first quarter, but a Clark layup and a free throw from Buford put ODU in front, 18-7. Higginbottom then scored a jumper as the Red Wolves took a narrow 19-18 advantage into the second stanza. The game remained close in the next quarter until McLaughlin and Fontana put together an 8-0 run as the Monarchs jumped ahead, 31-25. Clark then rounded out the first-half scoring for ODU with a pair of baskets.
ODU is back in Norfolk next Wednesday, Feb. 7 when the Monarchs host Troy for a 6:30 p.m. game at Chartway Arena.